In 2025, Sakura is proud to celebrate the 100th anniversary of CRAY-PAS™ — a product that has supported children’s creativity for generations.

　　■Why Was CRAY-PAS™ Created？

In the early 1920s in Japan, art education often focused on copying, using inexpensive materials.
As a result, children had few opportunities to express themselves freely or creatively.
SAKURA believed that children should be able to express what they feel in their hearts — openly and with color.
That belief led to the creation of CRAY-PAS™ in 1925.

　■The Best of Both: Crayon Meets Pastel

Crayons were easy to use, and Pastels offered beautiful, vibrant colors.
Sakura blended the best of both — creating CRAY-PAS™, which was softer than a crayon and allowed for smooth layering and color mixing — something not possible with earlier materials.

However, the first CRAY-PAS™ did not perform well across all seasons — it became too hard in winter and too soft in summer.
As a temporary solution, Sakura released two versions: a harder one for summer and a softer one for winter.

After continued improvements, we successfully developed an all-season CRAY-PAS™ in 1928 that could be used throughout the year. Thanks to this innovation, CRAY-PAS™ soon became a familiar part of everyday life in schools across Japan.

　■Looking to the Future

Today, Sakura offers a wide range of art supplies around the world — but one thing hasn’t changed:
Since the beginning, CRAY-PAS™ has supported free expression, and we will continue to carry that spirit into the next 100 years.